He action is rhythmic (Supplementary Table S2). Using the| Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2016, Vol. 11, No.Fig. 1. Examples of stimuli. Clockwise from top left: Snapshots excerpted from movie clips Numbers 1, 2, 11 and 23 (Supplementary Table S3).constructed questionnaire, we conducted an image selection experiment. Separate stimulus sets were prepared for male and female participants, which involved the showing of hand actions by an actor of the same sex as the subject and included the same set of actions for both genders. A pilot study revealed that some participants felt a gender difference and did not feel the urge to imitate when shown stimuli presented by a person of the opposite sex. Fifty-five participants (mean age 20.6 6 1.2 years; range 18?3 years; 33 males and 22 females) were shown all candidate movie clips and rated each clip using the questionnaire. As many different kinematic characteristics (speed, key motion, motion type and symmetry) as possible were included in the stimuli to avoid the dependence of Urge on certain kinematic characteristics.fMRI data acquisitionA time-course series of 442 volumes was acquired using T2*weighted gradient-echo AG-221MedChemExpress AG-221 echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequences and a 3-Tesla MR scanner (Achieva Quasar Dual, Philips Medical Systems, Best, The Netherlands). Each volume consisted of 41 transaxial slices covering the entire cerebrum (echo time ?30 ms; flip angle ?85 ; slice thickness ?2.5 mm; gap ?0.5 mm; field of view ?192 mm; 64 ?64 matrix; voxel dimension ?3.0 ?3.0 mm) and a repetition time of 2500 ms.Behavioral data analysisWe investigated the correlation purchase VP 63843 between Urge scores and other confounding factors (i.e. Familiarity, Difficulty and Rhythm scores). First, we calculated correlation coefficients between Urge scores and those of other confounding factors at the individual level. After Fisher’s Z transformation, one-sample t-tests was performed and the correlation between Urge scores with other confounding factors was determined.fMRI designEach subject was asked to lie in supine position on the bed of an MR scanner during the experiment. Participants’ hands were fixed at waist level, with their two wrists locked using a soft figure-eight band so that they could imitate the presented action without effort and maintain appropriate joint angles of their shoulders and elbows. The participants wore insulator gloves to prevent any flow of electricity through their body while their hands were touching during the scan. Visual stimuli were projected on the semi-lucent screen placed over the participant’s head, and the participant viewed them via a mirror attached to the head coil of the MR scanner. The fMRI design used in this study included two phases within a block: the observation phase and the imitation phase. Participants were instructed to observe an action (observation phase) and then imitate that action (imitation phase) during the fMRI scan. The movie clip presented in each phase was the same. Each phase began with a rest (10.5 s), followed by the instructions (2 s), followed by presentation of the action (10 s). There was a 12.5-s rest break and instruction period between the observation phase and imitation phase. One block lasted a total of 45 s. Movie clips were presented in pseudorandom order, and the experimental session lasted a total of 18 min and 24 s (Figure 2). Following the fMRI scan, each subject watched the movie clips once again and rated the Urge, Familiarity, Difficulty.He action is rhythmic (Supplementary Table S2). Using the| Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2016, Vol. 11, No.Fig. 1. Examples of stimuli. Clockwise from top left: Snapshots excerpted from movie clips Numbers 1, 2, 11 and 23 (Supplementary Table S3).constructed questionnaire, we conducted an image selection experiment. Separate stimulus sets were prepared for male and female participants, which involved the showing of hand actions by an actor of the same sex as the subject and included the same set of actions for both genders. A pilot study revealed that some participants felt a gender difference and did not feel the urge to imitate when shown stimuli presented by a person of the opposite sex. Fifty-five participants (mean age 20.6 6 1.2 years; range 18?3 years; 33 males and 22 females) were shown all candidate movie clips and rated each clip using the questionnaire. As many different kinematic characteristics (speed, key motion, motion type and symmetry) as possible were included in the stimuli to avoid the dependence of Urge on certain kinematic characteristics.fMRI data acquisitionA time-course series of 442 volumes was acquired using T2*weighted gradient-echo echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequences and a 3-Tesla MR scanner (Achieva Quasar Dual, Philips Medical Systems, Best, The Netherlands). Each volume consisted of 41 transaxial slices covering the entire cerebrum (echo time ?30 ms; flip angle ?85 ; slice thickness ?2.5 mm; gap ?0.5 mm; field of view ?192 mm; 64 ?64 matrix; voxel dimension ?3.0 ?3.0 mm) and a repetition time of 2500 ms.Behavioral data analysisWe investigated the correlation between Urge scores and other confounding factors (i.e. Familiarity, Difficulty and Rhythm scores). First, we calculated correlation coefficients between Urge scores and those of other confounding factors at the individual level. After Fisher’s Z transformation, one-sample t-tests was performed and the correlation between Urge scores with other confounding factors was determined.fMRI designEach subject was asked to lie in supine position on the bed of an MR scanner during the experiment. Participants’ hands were fixed at waist level, with their two wrists locked using a soft figure-eight band so that they could imitate the presented action without effort and maintain appropriate joint angles of their shoulders and elbows. The participants wore insulator gloves to prevent any flow of electricity through their body while their hands were touching during the scan. Visual stimuli were projected on the semi-lucent screen placed over the participant’s head, and the participant viewed them via a mirror attached to the head coil of the MR scanner. The fMRI design used in this study included two phases within a block: the observation phase and the imitation phase. Participants were instructed to observe an action (observation phase) and then imitate that action (imitation phase) during the fMRI scan. The movie clip presented in each phase was the same. Each phase began with a rest (10.5 s), followed by the instructions (2 s), followed by presentation of the action (10 s). There was a 12.5-s rest break and instruction period between the observation phase and imitation phase. One block lasted a total of 45 s. Movie clips were presented in pseudorandom order, and the experimental session lasted a total of 18 min and 24 s (Figure 2). Following the fMRI scan, each subject watched the movie clips once again and rated the Urge, Familiarity, Difficulty.
